RECOVERY OF CD4⁺FOXP3⁺ T CELLS IN PATIENTS WITH MULTYPLE MYELOMA AFTER AUTOLOGOUS HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

We have investigated the dynamics of post-transplant recovery of CD4+FOXP3+ T cells in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The relationship between CD4+FOXP3+ T cell counts and clinical outcomes of MM patients after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) also has been evaluated. Fifty-nine patients were included in the study. The content of circulating CD4+FOXP3+ T cells has been assessed with the use of flow cytometry before AHSCT, at the day of engraftment, and 6 and 12 months later. After AHSCT the relative count of CD4+FOXP3+T cells in MM patients restored rapidly, it became higher than initial level at the day of engraftment and then subsequently decreased for a 1 year to values in healthy donors. A relative count of CD4+FOXP3+T cellsat the time of engraftment increased in patients with relapsed disease during 12 months after AHSCT. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that evaluation of CD4+FOXP3+ T cells at the day of engraftment allowed to predict the early relapse of MM after AHSCT.

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